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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I make it a daily part of my regimen to slam "liberals" because they make it easy. They are knee-jerk anti-American, have an elitism about them that I find grating and look at the military and Israel with contempt. They deserve my daily ridicule.

But those liberals are neo-liberals not the true liberals who are thinkers and never worry that what they write will be scorned. They are fearless and thoughtful and I have to say; I enjoy reading them.

I would put Christopher Hitchens in that groups as well as the excellent Camille Paglia.

Money by the barrelful, by the truckload. Mountains of money, heaped like gassy pyramids in the national dump. Scrounging packs of politicos, snapping, snarling and sending green bills flying sky-high as they root through the tangled mass with ragged claws. The stale hot air filled with cries of rage, the gnashing of teeth and dark prophecies of doom.

Yes, this grotesque scene, like a claustrophobic circle in Dante's "Inferno," was what the U.S. government has looked like for the past two weeks as it fights on over Barack Obama's stimulus package -- a mammoth, chaotic grab bag of treasures, toys and gimcracks. Could popular opinion of our feckless Congress sink any lower? You betcha!

Anyone who can use "gimcracks" is alright by me, but I digress.

Ms. Paglia is one who can see things for what they truly are. She knows that the stimulus plan is a farce and says so. Juxtapose that with the neo-libs who are in for whatever Obama wants. $1-trillion, $2-trillion, whatever, dude. It's all good.

But this is what I find ingratiating about Ms. Paglia:

Speaking of talk radio (which I listen to constantly), I remain incredulous that any Democrat who professes liberal values would give a moment's thought to supporting a return of the Fairness Doctrine to muzzle conservative shows. (My latest manifesto on this subject appeared in my last column.) The failure of liberals to master the vibrant medium of talk radio remains puzzling. To reach the radio audience (whether the topic is sports, politics or car repair), a host must have populist instincts and use the robust common voice. Too many Democrats have become arrogant elitists, speaking down in snide, condescending tones toward tradition-minded middle Americans whom they stereotype as rubes and buffoons. But the bottom line is that government surveillance of the ideological content of talk radio is a shocking first step toward totalitarianism.

One of the nuggets I've gleaned from several radio sources is that Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who has been in the aggressive forefront of the campaign to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, is married to Tom Athans, who works extensively with left-wing radio organizations and was once the executive vice-president of Air America, the liberal radio syndicate that, despite massive publicity from major media, has failed miserably to win a national audience. Stabenow's outrageous conflict of interest has of course been largely ignored by the prestige press, which should have been demanding that she recuse herself from all political involvement with this issue.

Google "Stabenow" and "Fairness Doctrine" and then click on the links that lead to liberal sites. See how many mention anything about Stabenow's conflict of interest. Short answer: none.

Ms. Paglia came out and said she liked Sarah Palin and was appalled by her treatment. A ballsy call to say the least when neo-libs have a hatred that reaches deep against the homespun governor of our northern most state.

Ms. Paglia calls a spade a spade and has no recriminations or gives a damn what neo-libs or, for that matter, I think. That's what makes her so entertaining and actually makes me pine for the good battle against paleo-libs. They tended to be much more informed and respectful adversaries.

Yes, I'll disagree with Ms. Paglia on a great many issues but always enjoy her intelligent take on the issues of the day and you all should too.